Rays sign two-way standout McKay

"Our scouting staff believes that Brendan has the ability to impact a Major League roster on the mound, in the batter's box and defensively at first base," said Rays Director of Amateur Scouting Rob Metzler. "We are excited to provide Brendan the unique opportunity to further develop as a two-way prospect."

This is a pretty bold step for the Rays in terms of the bonus amount spent and giving him a chance to be a two-way player.

The kid now becomes the face and the future of the franchise. If he pulls off the two-way gig, he becomes the face and the future of major league baseball. It will be an interesting development to follow.

At the youth level, "doing both" is kind of taken for granted. To do it at the professional level is still very unique. Very much like the two-sport athletes like Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders, it will be very interesting and exciting for major league baseball if somebody could do it. If not McKay, perhaps the kid from Japan if he is ever released to MLB.

Japanese high school game spans four days and 50 innings | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKSQ-SbvZr0

第59回軟式高校野球 中京vs崇徳の準決勝“50回”決着の瞬間

Extra Innings is a sign of bad umpiring - said every umpire who has ever umpired

今までumpiredたすべての審判 - 延長戦は悪いumpiringのサインです

That means this game had really, really really bad umpiring.

from Yahoo Sports:

Japanese high school game spans four days and 50 innings | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:

In a pitching duel to end all pitching duels, Chukyo High School and Sotoku High School were held scoreless for days — literally — during a semifinal matchup at the 59th National High School Rubber Baseball Tournament in Japan. It wasn't until the 50th inning — which took place on Sunday morning, four days after the game had started — that Chukyo finally broke through for three runs. Fortunately for them, and pretty much everyone involved, that would hold up, allowing them to advance to the finals later on Sunday. 

Amazingly and ridiculously, both starting pitchers went the distance during the marathon. Chukyo starting pitcher Taiga Matsui threw 709 pitches and allowed 26 hits over his 50 innings.  “This game was the physically hardest ever for me," Matsui said after the semifinal game. "But I showed my (fighting) spirit. As my teammates scored three runs (in the 50th inning), I was able to throw in a relaxed manner in the bottom of the inning. Ishioka was a good rival for me.” 

His counterpart, Jukiya Ishioka of Sotoku, totaled 689 pitches and allowed 22 hits. Ishioka said, “Though I was beaten in the end, it was a good experience for me to pitch until the last. I had fatigue not only today (Aug. 31) but also yesterday and the day before yesterday. But I asked our coach to use me as a starter today.”

'via Blog this'

I don't even know what this says about the American fixation with pitch counts. We say that we have a warrior mentality but in the Japanese culture, they live it. These guys were literally willing to "Come back with your shield - or on it".

私も、これはピッチカウントを持つアメリカの固定について言うのか分からない。私たちは、戦士の精神を持っていますが、日本文化に、彼らはそれを生きると言う。これらの人は、文字通り" - またはそれを盾に戻ってきて」に喜んでいた。

Perhaps some residual to the samurai warrior mentality detailed here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/japan_no_surrender_01.shtml

the end of hostilities

When Emperor Hirohito made his first ever broadcast to the Japanese people on 15 August 1945, and enjoined his subjects 'to endure the unendurable and bear the unbearable', he brought to an end a state of war - both declared and undeclared - that had wracked his country for 14 years.

......

 Japan's samurai heritage and the samurai code of ethics known as 'bushido' have a seductive appeal when searching for explanations for the wartime image of no surrender. The great classic of Bushido - 'Hagakure' written in the early 18th century - begins with the words, 'Bushido is a way of dying'. Its basic thesis is that only a samurai prepared and willing to die at any moment can devote himself fully to his lord.

Giants sign Kensuke Tanaka - McCovey Chronicles

Wait, What!?! You mean if you change the composition of the ball, you can change the rate of home-runs? Where have I heard that before.  To say nothing about the dimensions of the park?

Let's see, which would travel farther after a collision with a baseball bat -- a baseball the hardness and consistency of a cue-ball or a nerf-ball? A bean-bag? Pitchers knew and were whining as much or more about that and lowered seams (harder to throw quality breaking balls) to say nothing about Questec, than PED's, Goose Gossage (who was by then, no longer playing) notwithstanding, BWDIK?

from McCovey Chronicles:
Giants sign Kensuke Tanaka - McCovey Chronicles:

If you want the stats before that, the Baseball Cube has them, not that they're very inspiring. There are a couple of things to note, the first being that for the last two years, a new standard ball has supposedly sucked the offense out of Japanese baseball. The entire league is partying like it's 1968 in Dodger Stadium. The second thing to note is that Japanese ballparks are still a lot smaller than the parks in America, so Tanaka almost certainly doesn't have much power at all. Theriot power, as it were.

'via Blog this'

Japanese knuckleballer knocking on baseball's door

JAPANESE KNUCKLEBALLER - ERI YOSHIDA

We highlighted this young Japanese pitcher when she was fist drafted in November of 2008 and it appears that she may be something more than a novelty.

From ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=4961259

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The fraternity of knuckleball pitchers is small, and Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox is its active godfather.

Eri Yoshida hopes to expand that roster and break the gender barrier at the same time.

Yoshida, the petite 18-year-old who became the first female drafted by a Japanese professional team, Kobe 9 Cruise of the Kansai Independent Baseball League, made her pro debut on March 26, 2009, at the Osaka Dome. She learned how to throw a knuckleball as a young girl by watching video of Wakefield.

I ask the question again --

Will Major League Baseball be the first of the major sports to break the gender barrier in the modern era?


From the NBA, this analysis regarding the prospects of arguably the best women's basketball players making the leap from WNBA to NBA.

David Stern thinks it will happen by 2020.

From si.com:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/12/04/countdown/index.html


NBA players like LeBron James and Candace Parker's own husband and brother think not.

Shelden Williams, husband to Candace Parker, arguably the best women’s basketball player, said “it’s not something that could happen,’’ pointing to the differences in size, strength, and game play.

He also said that Parker didn’t argue.

“We’ve talked about it,’’ Williams said. “She feels the same way.’’

And then Shelden maybe went a step too far (for Stern’s liking):

Williams said of Stern’s comments, “He has to say that because he wants to promote the WNBA, but it’s not something that’s realistic.’’

I think a Diana Taurasi who could play outside the paint might be a better contributor. A good spot shooter or a three-point specialist a la Steve Kerr could make the jump. Would that be good for the WNBA or would it detract from fan interest? There certainly would not be a mass exodus of women players from the WNBA to the NBA similar to what occurred after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, but it may be the final nail in the coffin for a league that seemingly has trouble attracting anything other than a friends and family fan base as it is.

In baseball, a pitcher that is able to master a trick pitch like the knuckleball or the screwball could certainly make the bigs. There is no need for such a pitcher the level of upper or lower strength that precludes most women from success in other sports or positions where this is nearly a requirement.

Time will tell but it appears as if the NBA or MLB has this event on the radar. It's becoming more a matter of when it happens rather than if it happens.

Coming soon to a ballpark near you - High School Baseball National Championship

It seems as if the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) is greasing the wheels for a future high school national championship tournament.

According to an article by Lou Pavlovich in Collegiate Baseball the president of the NFHS is enamored by the idea and the Fed may begin national championships for individual sports such as tennis and golf (beginning in 2010/11 school year) prior to attempting to work out the more difficult logistical details of adding team sports like football, baseball and basketball.

Ennis Proctor, president of the NFHS stated that while "Baseball would probably be more manageable than other sports. Right now, we are in the infant stages for even having individual national championships. Team national championships are a long, long way away if we ever have them."

So for now, the so-called "mythical" national championship concept based on the opinions of experts like Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, et. al. appear to be safe.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/team-rankings/2010/269563.html


BTW, congrats to:
#13 ranked St. Rita (Chicago)
#18 ranked Alonzo High School (Tampa)
#28 Winnetka HS (Chicago)
for making the Baseball America pre-season list.

Many familiar names on the list. Presumably these schools will be in the running for future consideration in these tournaments given their "baseball powerhouse" status.

The details of the structure of the tournaments remains to be determined but I would expect that the various state tournaments would still remain in place. This is currently the pinnacle achievement for most baseball programs and the goal of virtually every high school baseball players in the country during this time of the year.

One of the details to be worked out appears to be determining who would represent each state from among the myriad of state champions that are crowned each year. Generally, schools are segregated by enrollment size and compete in conferences or divisions based on geography. Each "class" or level crowns its own state champion. Public and private schools are sometimes segregated due to size and differing rules regarding attendance.

NFHS officials acknowledge that the path to implementation may take some time but the model is based on a similar tournament that has been held in Japan for over 20 years with great success.

Included in great success is individual games featuring crowds of 40-50,000 and over 750,000 attendance over the course of a 15 day tournament as well as 50 million eyeballs watching on TV.
Which means "rights fees", which means $$$. Lots of money.

Initially over 3,000 schools in Japan begin the march to glory with the dream field whittled down to a final field of 49. Fifteen teams get an initial bye into the field and the thirty- four others play into the tournament field's second round.

JAPAN HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT INFORMATION:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_High_School_Baseball_Championship

Admittedly, I have mixed feelings on this as a future development. I am always heartened when I hear stories like this one that indicate baseball is rising in stature and importance nationally.

I understand that the level of interest in collegiate baseball has risen so much over the years that it is now considered a "revenue" sport by the NCAA. Which means it makes money for the schools.

Also, I have heard whispers that the major leagues, as part of their effort to "fix" the draft are more open to the idea of using the college programs more as a developmental platform than carrying the expenses of many of the lower classifications of minor league ball.

I am certain that this transfer of "assets" will only come after "control" of said assets is locked down by fixes to the draft similar to what the National Hockey League employs. In the NHL, a team "controls the rights" to a player it drafts out of high school for the next three or four years.

All this increased stature and attention sounds like a good thing initially. But the devil is always in the details and with the growth of stature, attention and money comes unforeseen problems as well. The administrators are going to have to take a long hard look at the impact that all these swirling ideas will have on the future of the "STUDENT"-athletes placed in their TRUST.

JAPANESE GIRL DRAFTED TO PRO MENS LEAGUE

THE JAPANESE ARE NOT AFRAID TO BREAK THE MOLD TO FIND NEW PITCHING TALENT

Note: The young lady pictured above is not the girl referenced in the story.

--------------
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2008/11/17/baseball-japanese-girl-selected-to-play-in-professional-men-s-league.aspx

A 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean knuckleball has been selected as the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball.

Eri Yoshida was drafted for a new independent league that will launch in April, drawing attention for a side-armed knuckler that her future manager Yoshihiro Nakata said was a marvel.

"I never dreamed of getting drafted," Yoshida told reporters Monday, a day after she was selected to play for the Kobe 9 Cruise.

"I have only just been picked by the team and have not achieved anything," she said. "I want to play as a pro eventually in a higher league."

Yoshida, 5-foot-0 tall and weighing 114 pounds, says she wants to follow in the footsteps of the great Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan's first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players.
--------------
I have always thought that this would likely be the fastest route for the first woman to play professionally in the "major" American sports at the highest level.

In football, other than as a kicker who was very accurate from 40 and under, I don't see a woman who could crack an NFL roster in my lifetime.

In basketball, maybe a crack three-point shooter--a la Steve Kerr--could be a possibility as the first woman NBA player.

In baseball, a woman pitcher with a killer knuckle ball or a splitter could pitch effectively at any level. I don't see any major league caliber hitters on the horizon anytime soon. Which is fair, because I don't see any major league hitters capable of hitting Jennie Finch.


絵里の3つの歓声!!!!!
which means, three cheers for Eri, according to Google translation.


ERI YOSHIDA - DRAFTED BY JAPANESE MENS LEAGUE

The Debut of Dice-K....and the Mysterious Gyroball

Perhaps only the Barry Bonds home-run chase and maybe the Derek & A-Rod he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not relationship will generate as much excitment and human drama as the new Red Sox import from Japan and his mysterious gyroball.

He could be as much a phenom as Mark Fidrych and Dwight Gooden when they debuted. And he could be just as dominant, especially in the early going. I predict he will light up Fenway Park in the spring with multiple games of 10 or more stikeouts (or ストライクアウト if you're scoring in Japanese).

The Red Sox will hold their collective breaths and hope so, especially those who signed off on the $50 million dollar plus posting fee to sign him. In addition to the scrutiny this unprecednted initial investment brings, this guy may also hold the key to the Sox pitching fortunes this year, along with sophomore Jonathan Papelbon and the health and fitness of Curt Schilling.

Some interesting websites that are analysing this new pitch:

Alan Nathan's The Physics of Baseball Website and other references:
http://webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/gyro.html

This site has some nice videos of "the pitch"
http://accc.riken.jp/E/HPC_e/gyroball/

And ESPN checks in with The Demon Sphere
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=gyroballsearch

WBC Championship Game: Japan prevails over Cuba

I would have been happy with my pre-tournament favorite the Dominican
Dandies winning the whole thing. But the Japanese and the Korean teams
defensive efficiency was something to watch.
My impression of the Cuban team was that of a talented team, who given
the circumstances of their inclusion in the event, was obviously
motivated to win. I just couldn't get over how much they looked like a
beer league softball team. Coulda been the uniforms. Coulda been the
somewhat less than mid-season form of the players physiques. These guys
are obviously not missing to many team meals. Or maybe it's the per
diem.
I would have been happy with either of those teams winning as well as
the Puerto Rican team, because of the obvious passion and joy to simply
play the game of baseball at that level each of those teams displayed.
Something Team U$A apparently lacks. I wonder why tha i$?
Anyway much congrats to Team Japan.